Lumanti (Memory)

Final Chapter

Lumanti was sitting on a small stool by the balcony looking outside and soaking the sun. The weather was beautiful. The sky was clear and mostly blue with white cotton like clouds moving around. She had a book in her hand that she planned to read but instead of delving into the words of book, she was lost somewhere far beyond. She was thinking about Aaron and the last time they kissed. They had never kissed so passionately as if their life depended on it. She was in love with the guy she can't have. She had told him to think by himself and take a decision. She was ready to take in whatever he may choose to do, though deep inside her heart she wanted him to choose her but not against the will of his parents. She had always understood his respect for his parents and she always admired that about him so she couldn't let herself be the reason for him going against his family. In mixture of fear of losing him and love for him, she couldn't help but kiss him one last time before they part again. She wanted to keepsake that memory for lifetime while she prepared herself for the worst.

It has been two whole days since they last talked. He had finally told everything to her without hiding anything. She was reminiscing their conversation; she was sad to hear what happened and especially heartbroken to know what he went through. If he makes the decision on her favor, she had thought, she would help him talk to his parents and sort this mess together, but everything happened so fast. His dad came to know sooner than expected, he was rushed to Adelaide, went through family drama and after a soulful conversation with his mother, a ray of hope shone at their love. She tried to convince his dad about it. He was relentless but the wall was chipping off slowly.

Lumanti beared her own trouble of convincing her parents. After all the miscommunications, it was up to these two star-struck lovers to decide the fate on their relationship.

Aaron said he will, actually, try to come to see her before she left for Melbourne. There was something odd about his voice when he said he will try to come see her. She was unsure if he meant to come see before she left or fly to where she will be.

After their phone conversation, Aaron and his dad a heartful conversation after a long time.

"Dad, I don't want you telling me whom to love, please." Aaron said looking away from his dad.

"I did the same mistake once in my life, you know." His father response came as a shock to Aaron and what came next, surprised him even more, his father added, "I don't want my son repeating the same."

"What do you mean Pa?"

"I regretted over a time for not fighting enough for things I wanted in my life, for people I loved. Now that I think of it may be, I was not passionate enough for anything so I may have failed to understand where you are coming from. My parents made decisions for me but your mother gave me these amazing kids to call mine so no regrets there, but you clearly will have regrets if you don't fight for her. You at least talked to me about it. You were brave enough to face your emotions. I am proud of you and your choice. Go and talk to her. I will not be a hindrance in your love."

Overwhelmed by what his father told him, he hugged his father and without any of them noticing, they shed a few tears behind their back.

Now, Lumanti's bags were all packed and sitting neatly at her lounge. Her studio apartment was empty as she prepared her old space for new tenant. Rianne will be coming at evening to pick her up to take her to the airport, so she was all by herself till then, with her thoughts.

She had recently downloaded all the photos from her camera onto her tablet. As she sat by the balcony sliding through the memory lane of past years and a year before that, she heard a knock at her front door, surprised by the knock, she hurriedly went towards the door. Outside the door was Aaron in white shirt, black jeans and flower bouquet in his hand smiling at her. She smiled back and took a flower from him. While she put the flower down, he swooped her into his arms and kissed her like he was kissing her for the first time after long time.

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you more."

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